West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 31 July 1939, page 17


EAST PERTH KICKS POORLY. Notable Victory for East Fremantle. Playing steadily from the start, rallying brilliantly in the third quarter and resisting a strong challenge in the final term, East Fremantle defeated East Perth by 13 points at Perth Oval on Saturday. Heavy rain, a water-logged ground and a greasy ball made high-class football impossible. For most of the game East Perth had an equal share of the play, but its kicking at goal was hopelessly inaccurate-at one stage it had scored 2.12 from 14 shots and in the second quarter it kicked seven behinds and no goaL In cbntrast, East Fremantle played with care rather than brilliance when near the goals and did not waste a kick within scoring range. Its forward division was generally satisfactory, despite the fact that Daniell at centre half-forward was well outplayed by Starr. Teams were:EAST FREMANTLE.Backs: Briggs, A. Kingsbury, Louthean. Half-backs: J. Clark. Hutchinson. Gabrielson. Centres: Taylor, C. Dois. Storer. Half-forwards: Ebbs, Danieli, Wendt. Forwards: Strang. 0. Doig, Soltoggio. Ruck: Donegan, Prince. Mcolinn (rover). Nineteenth man: Hunter (did not play). EAST PETH.-oBacks: seEnros. Ward, Thomas. Half-backs: H. Smith. Starr. Rowland. Centres: Miller. Cronln. . Sweet. fIalfforwards: B. Ryan. Neeson, J. Sweet. Forwards: Lockyer, Gardiner. F. Patterson. Ruck: L. Graham, R. Graham. A. Campbell (rover). Nineteenth man: Fogarty (replaced Smith, Injured foot, in. third quarter). UMPIRE: G; Owens. Effective handball, strong kicking and clever play by the centre line gave East Fremantle an initial advantage, but it missed shots at goal. Slow to start, East Perth wehit forward with careful leading from the wings and its half-forwards outpointed the opposing half-backs. East Fremantle's attack was weakened by the close watch kept by Starr on Daniell, but the team held a lead of a goal for a long period. East Perth's play near the goal was faulty, the wet ball seeming to throw the forwards off their game, and, despite its superiority in general play, East Perth was behind at quarter-time with 2.4 to 3.4. East Perth frittered away four chances in the first few minutes of the second quarter. Neeson dominated the halfforward line, but much of his good work was lost. East Perth, too, was superior in the air, but East Fremantle's tactics of making sure of every lead enabled it to hold the advantage. East Perth's overindulgence in handball w s an expensiva error. With an advantage in the ruck (where R. Graham and J. Sweet were prominent), at centre half-forward and centre half-back, East Perth was remarkably deficient in scoring power. At one stage its total was 2.10, as against East Fremantle's 5.5. Rowland stopped numerous East Fre iantle attacks, but the Fremantle team led at half-time with 5.5 to 2.11. In driving rain East Fremantle made a brilliant effort at the start of the third quarter. The team played at great pace in sweeping the ball forward from the ruck. Donegan and Prince goaled. Strang was a steadying influence in defence; he started an attack which ended in a goal by McGlinn sBd East Fremantle led by

30 points. Patterson, after a fine mark, scored East Perth's first goal since the first quarter. Again and again East Perth got within easy scoring distance, only to score behinds or kick the ball out of bounds, and at the close of the quarter the scores were:-East Fremantle, 9.6; East Perth, 4.14. Splendid work in defence lty B. Ryan saved East Perth from being overwhelmed in the early stages of the final quarter. Working hard to overcome the miserable conditions East Perth gathered speed and improved its handling of the slippery ball. Goals by R. Graham and B. Ryan placed the team only eight points behind eleven minutes from time. B. Ryan, brilliant in the ruck and indomitable in defence, was a tower of strength, but East Fremantle forced a passage through Strang. Twice it faltered near the goal and a kick by Ebbs hit the post, but Soltoggio fought his way through a scrimmage, received a penalty and goaled a few minutes from the end to make the game safe for East Fremantle. The final scores were:EAST FREMANTLE 10.1: (71pts.). EAST PERTH . . 7.16 (58pts.). Scorers.--East Fremantle: Prince, 3.0; McGlinn, 2.1; G. Doig, 2.1; Soltoggio, 1.1: Donegan, 1.0: Strang, 1.0: Daniell, 0.2; Ebbs, 0.1; Wendt, 0.1; Taylor, 0.1; three behinds forced through. East Perth: Patterson, 2.3; R. Graham, 2.0; Lockyer, 12; B. Ryan, 1.1: J. Sweet, 1.0; Gardiner, 0.5; Neeson, 0.3; Campbell, 0.2.In In an even East Fremantle team Strang again was an outstanding player. He was good in the ruck and sure in the open play, despite the wet ball. Soltoggio, one of the younger players, was tenacious in going, for the ball, sure in handling it and generally very effective. Wendt did a lot of good work .in conditions which did not favour his type of play and Donegan was prominent in every quarter, giving pace to the ruck and opening up the play about the centre in the forward area. Gabrielson, at half-back, was rarely beaten and Prince was excellent in attack. He kicked three good goals and was resourceful and sound at all times. The youthful Storer gave a good performance on a wing and- was a leading player from the start to the end. C. Doig and Taylor -contributed a full share to the team's success and Louthean's play had much to do with the checking of East Perth's attack. Briggs was solid. For East Perth, B. Ryan played brilliantly-at times heroically-and he was the best man on the ground. He was a power in the ruck and he marked better than any playerrin the game. Ross Graham was prominent in most of the team's moves and he played particularly well in attack. Starr beat Daniell and generally upset the East Fremantle attack. On a wing D. Miller played cleverly, driving the ball forward after brilliant dashes, and Cronin at centre did some good work. A. Campbell, roving, won the ball a lot and worked hard in every quarter. J. Sweek was prominent in the ruck n d C. Rowland played outstanding football at half-back. It was one of his best performances in several seasons of league football. Neeson was often under notice in the first half and L. Graham was a serviceable player.